Adolescent Vaccination Reminder Study

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This protocol describes a study about vaccination uptake among adolescents. The purpose of the study is to determine whether parents who receive email reminders will be more likely to obtain Tdap (tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis), HPV (human papilloma virus), meningococcal, and influenza vaccines for their adolescent children than parents who do not receive email reminders.

Condition or disease

Intervention/treatment

Adolescent Vaccination Status

Behavioral: Email Notification

Detailed Description:

Adolescents are a reservoir population for a variety of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs). Despite this, adolescent vaccination rates lag substantially behind national goals of 80% coverage for adolescent vaccines set forth by Healthy People 2020. This has been particularly the case for the vaccines most recently recommended for adolescents, such as the HPV (human papilloma virus) and seasonal influenza (flu) vaccines; national coverage levels in 2010 for HPV were 32% (for series completion among females only) and 35% for flu vaccine. Uptake levels for the two other adolescent-targeted vaccines, Tdap and meningococcal conjugate (MCV4) vaccines are currently at 69% and 63%, respectively.

A major barrier to increased adolescent vaccination levels is the lack of parental and provider recognition that an adolescent is due for vaccine doses. For providers, there are the dual challenges of getting adolescents to come in for annual preventive care visits and also minimizing "missed opportunities" for vaccination (i.e. clinical interactions with a patient where a needed vaccine could have been provided but was not). Reminder/recall systems are one mechanism to help address both of these challenges for providers while also informing parents about the need for adolescent vaccines.

This group of parents in the study will receive email notifications about due/overdue vaccines for their adolescents. Vaccination records will be reviewed to identify adolescent patients in both practices who are newly eligible for a vaccine and/or overdue for a vaccine at the start of every other month. Email notifications will then be sent to the parents of these children.

Behavioral: Email Notification

This study will use a targeted email reminder/recall intervention that addresses specific aspects of adolescent under-immunization.

No Intervention: Usual Care

This group of parents in the study will not receive email notifications about due/overdue vaccines for their adolescents.

New immunization doses [ Time Frame: New immunizations within 60 days of reminder notification ]

To examine the effect of email vaccination reminders, new immunization doses of children of parents who receive email vaccination reminders, versus those who do not receive email reminders during the study period will be determined. New doses are those for any of four adolescent vaccines which are administered following the reminder notification, and are subsequently recorded following reminder notifications.

To examine the effect of email vaccination reminders, waived immunization doses of children of parents who receive email vaccination reminders, versus those who do not receive email reminders during the study period will be determined. Waived doses are those for any of four adolescent vaccines for which medical, religious, or philosophical waivers are subsequently recorded following reminder notifications.

To examine the effect of email vaccination reminders, historical immunization doses of children of parents who receive email vaccination reminders, versus those who do not receive email reminders during the study period will be determined. Historical doses are those for any of four adolescent vaccines which are administered prior to the reminder notification and are subsequently recorded following reminder notifications.

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Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Parents of adolescents (Ages 11-18) have children who attend one of 4 participating pediatric practices,

Parents are able to read and converse in English,

Parents have an active email address that is associated with their child's medical record,

Parents have an adolescent whose medical record can be matched with their MCIR record.